S.Amdt. 4803

SA 4803. Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. Kelly, Ms. Hirono, Ms.
Rosen, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Moran, Mr. Young, Mrs. Feinstein,
Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. King, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Durbin, Mr.
Peters, and Mr. Blumenthal) submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and intended to be
proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize appropriations for fiscal
year 2022 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for
military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of
Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year,
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the end of subtitle B of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1216. AFGHANISTAN WAR COMMISSION ACT OF 2021.

(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Afghanistan War Commission Act of 2021''.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Applicable period.--The term ``applicable period''
means the period beginning June 1, 2001, and ending August
30, 2021.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(E) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives;
(F) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(G) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives; and
(H) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(3) Intelligence community.--The term ``intelligence
community'' has the meaning given that term in section 3(4)
of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).
(c) Establishment of Commission.--
(1) Establishment.--There is established in the legislative
branch an independent commission to be known as the
Afghanistan War Commission (in this section referred to as
the ``Commission'').
(2) Membership.--
(A) Composition.--The Commission shall be composed of 16
members of whom--
(i) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee
on Armed Services of the Senate;
(ii) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the
Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(iii) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee
on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;
(iv) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the
Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives;

[[Page S8492]]

(v) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee
on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(vi) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(vii) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
(viii) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives;
(ix) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Select
Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
(x) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the
Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
(xi) 1 shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives;
(xii) 1 shall be appointed by the ranking member of the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives;
(xiii) 1 shall be appointed by the majority leader of the
Senate;
(xiv) 1 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the
Senate;
(xv) 1 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives; and
(xvi) 1 shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the
House of Representatives.
(B) Qualifications.--It is the sense of Congress that each
member of the Commission appointed under subparagraph (A)
should have significant professional experience in national
security, such as a position in--
(i) the Department of Defense;
(ii) the Department of State;
(iii) the intelligence community;
(iv) the United States Agency for International
Development; or
(v) an academic or scholarly institution.
(C) Prohibitions.--A member of the Commission appointed
under subparagraph (A) may not--
(i) be a current member of Congress;
(ii) be a former member of Congress who served in Congress
after January 3, 2001;
(iii) be a current or former registrant under the Foreign
Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 U.S.C. 611 et seq.);
(iv) have previously investigated Afghanistan policy or the
war in Afghanistan through employment in the office of a
relevant inspector general;
(v) have been the sole owner or had a majority stake in a
company that held any United States or coalition defense
contract providing goods or services to activities by the
United States Government or coalition in Afghanistan during
the applicable period; or
(vi) have served, with direct involvement in actions by the
United States Government in Afghanistan during the time the
relevant official served, as--

(I) a cabinet secretary or national security adviser to the
President; or
(II) a four-star flag officer, Under Secretary, or more
senior official in the Department of Defense or the
Department of State.

(D) Date.--
(i) In general.--The appointments of the members of the
Commission shall be made not later than 60 days after the
date of enactment of this Act.
(ii) Failure to make appointment.--If an appointment under
subparagraph (A) is not made by the appointment date
specified in clause (i)--

(I) the authority to make such appointment shall expire;
and
(II) the number of members of the Commission shall be
reduced by the number equal to the number of appointments not
made.

(3) Period of appointment; vacancies.--
(A) In general.--A member of the Commission shall be
appointed for the life of the Commission.
(B) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission--
(i) shall not affect the powers of the Commission; and
(ii) shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment.
(4) Meetings.--
(A) Initial meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the date
on which all members of the Commission have been appointed,
the Commission shall hold the first meeting of the
Commission.
(B) Frequency.--The Commission shall meet at the call of
the Co-Chairpersons.
(C) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Commission
shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may
hold hearings.
(5) Co-chairpersons.--The Commission shall select, by a
simple majority vote--
(A) 1 Co-Chairperson from the members of the Commission
appointed by chairpersons of the appropriate congressional
committees; and
(B) 1 Co-Chairperson from the members of the Commission
appointed by the ranking members of the appropriate
congressional committees.
(d) Purpose of Commission.-- The purpose of the Commission
is--
(1) to examine the key strategic, diplomatic, and
operational decisions that pertain to the war in Afghanistan
during the relevant period, including decisions, assessments,
and events that preceded the war in Afghanistan; and
(2) to develop a series of lessons learned and
recommendations for the way forward that will inform future
decisions by Congress and policymakers throughout the United
States Government.
(e) Duties of Commission.--
(1) Study.--
(A) In general.--The Commission shall conduct a thorough
study of all matters relating to combat operations,
reconstruction and security force assistance activities,
intelligence operations, and diplomatic activities of the
United States pertaining to the Afghanistan during the period
beginning September 1, 1996, and ending August 30, 2021.
(B) Matters studied.--The matters studied by the Commission
shall include--
(i) for the time period specified under subparagraph (A)--

(I) the policy objectives of the United States Government,
including--

(aa) military objectives;
(bb) diplomatic objectives;
(cc) development objectives; and
(dd) intelligence objectives;

(II) significant decisions made by the United States,
including the development of options presented to
policymakers;
(III) the efficacy of efforts by the United States
Government in meeting the objectives described in clause (i),
including an analysis of --

(aa) military efforts;
(bb) diplomatic efforts;
(cc) development efforts; and
(dd) intelligence efforts; and

(IV) the efficacy of counterterrorism efforts against al
Qaeda, the Islamic State Khorasan Province, and other foreign
terrorist organizations in degrading the will and
capabilities of such organizations--

(aa) to mount external attacks against the United States
mainland or its allies and partners; or
(bb) to threaten regional stability in Afghanistan and
neighboring countries.
(ii) the efficacy of metrics, measures of effectiveness,
and milestones used to assess progress of diplomatic,
military, and intelligence efforts;
(iii) the efficacy of interagency planning and execution
process by the United States Government;
(iv) factors that led to the collapse of the Afghan
National Defense Security Forces in 2021, including--

(I) training;
(II) assessment methodologies;
(III) building indigenous forces on western models;
(IV) reliance on technology and logistics support; and
(V) reliance on warfighting enablers provided by the United
States;

(v) the efficacy of counter-corruption efforts to include
linkages to diplomatic lines of effort, linkages to foreign
and security assistance, and assessment methodologies;
(vi) the efficacy of counter-narcotic efforts to include
alternative livelihoods, eradication, interdiction, and
education efforts;
(vii) the role of countries neighboring Afghanistan in
contributing to the instability of Afghanistan;
(viii) varying diplomatic approaches between Presidential
administrations;
(ix) the extent to which the intelligence community did or
did not fail to provide sufficient warning about the probable
outcomes of a withdrawal of coalition military support from
Afghanistan, including as it relates to--

(I) the capability and sustainability of the Afghanistan
National Defense Security Forces;
(II) the sustainability of the Afghan central government,
absent coalition support;
(III) the extent of Taliban control over Afghanistan over
time with respect to geographic territory, governance, and
influence; and
(IV) the likelihood of the Taliban regaining control of
Afghanistan at various levels of United States and coalition
support, including the withdrawal of most or all United
States or coalition support;

(x) the extent to which intelligence products related to
the state of the conflict in Afghanistan and the
effectiveness of the Afghanistan National Defense Security
Forces complied with intelligence community-wide analytic
tradecraft standards and fully reflected the divergence of
analytic views across the intelligence community;
(xi) an evaluation of whether any element of the United
States Government inappropriately restricted access to data
from elements of the intelligence community, Congress, or the
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
(SIGAR) or any other oversight body such as other inspectors
general or the Gpvernment Accountability Office, including
through the use of overclassification; and
(xii) the extent to which public representations of the
situation in Afghanistan before Congress by United States
Government officials were not consistent with the most recent
formal assessment of the intelligence community at the time
those representations were made.
(2) Report required.--
(A) In general.--
(i) Annual report.--

(I) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the initial meeting of the Commission, and annually
thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report describing the progress of
the activities of the Commission as of the date of such
report, including any findings, recommendations, or lessons
learned endorsed by the Commission.
(II) Addenda.--Any member of the Commission may submit an
addendum to a report required under subclause (I) setting

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forth the separate views of such member with respect to any
matter considered by the Commission.
(III) Briefing.--On the date of the submission of the first
annual report, the Commission shall brief Congress.

(ii) Final report.--

(I) Submission.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
the initial meeting of the Commission, the Commission shall
submit to Congress a report that contains a detailed
statement of the findings, recommendations, and lessons
learned endorsed by the Commission.
(II) Addenda.--Any member of the Commission may submit an
addendum to the report required under subclause (I) setting
forth the separate views of such member with respect to any
matter considered by the Commission.
(III) Extension.--The Commission may submit the report
required under subclause (I) at a date that is not more than
1 year later than the date specified in such clause if agreed
to by the chairperson and ranking member of each of the
appropriate congressional committees.

(B) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1)(B) shall be
submitted and publicly released on a Government website in
unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.
(C) Subsequent reports on declassification.--
(i) In general.--Not later than 4 years after the date that
the report required by subparagraph (A)(ii) is submitted,
each relevant agency of jurisdiction shall submit to the
committee of jurisdiction a report on the efforts of such
agency to declassify such annex.
(ii) Contents.--Each report required by clause (i) shall
include--

(I) a list of the items in the classified annex that the
agency is working to declassify at the time of the report and
an estimate of the timeline for declassification of such
items;
(II) a broad description of items in the annex that the
agency is declining to declassify at the time of the report;
and
(III) any justification for withholding declassification of
certain items in the annex and an estimate of the timeline
for declassification of such items.

(f) Powers of Commission.--
(1) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, take
such testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission
considers necessary to carry out its purpose and functions
under this section.
(2) Assistance from federal agencies.--
(A) Information.--
(i) In general.--The Commission may secure directly from a
Federal department or agency such information as the
Commission considers necessary to carry out this section.
(ii) Furnishing information.--Upon receipt of a written
request by the Co-Chairpersons of the Commission, the head of
the department or agency shall expeditiously furnish the
information to the Commission.
(B) Space for commission.--Not later than 30 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of
General Services, in consultation with the Commission, shall
identify and make available suitable excess space within the
Federal space inventory to house the operations of the
Commission. If the Administrator of General Services is not
able to make such suitable excess space available within such
30-day period, the Commission may lease space to the extent
that funds are available for such purpose.
(3) Postal services.--The Commission may use the United
States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions
as other departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
(4) Gifts.--The Commission may accept, use, and dispose of
gifts or donations of services, goods, and property from non-
Federal entities for the purposes of aiding and facilitating
the work of the Commission. The authority in this subsection
does not extend to gifts of money. Gifts accepted under this
authority shall be documented, and conflicts of interest or
the appearance of conflicts of interest shall be avoided.
Subject to the authority in this section, commissioners shall
otherwise comply with rules set forth by the Select Committee
on Ethics of the Senate and the Committee on Ethics of the
House of Representatives governing employees of the Senate
and the House of Representatives.
(5) Legislative advisory committee.--The Commission shall
operate as a legislative advisory committee and shall not be
subject to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (Public Law 92-463; 5 U.S.C. App) or section 552b, United
States Code (commonly known as the Government in the Sunshine
Act).
(g) Commission Personnel Matters.--
(1) Compensation of members.--A member of the Commission
who is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government
shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent
of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of
the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United
States Code, for each day (including travel time) during
which the member is engaged in the performance of the duties
of the Commission.
(2) Travel expenses.--A member of the Commission shall be
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of
subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies
under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States
Code, while away from their homes or regular places of
business in the performance of services for the Commission.
(3) Staff.--
(A) Status as federal employees.--Notwithstanding the
requirements of section 2105 of title 5, United States Code,
including the required supervision under subsection (a)(3) of
such section, the members of the commission shall be deemed
to be Federal employees.
(B) Executive director.--The Commission shall appoint and
fix the rate of basic pay for an Executive Director in
accordance with section 3161(d) of title 5, United States
Code.
(C) Pay.--The Executive Director, with the approval of the
Commission, may appoint and fix the rate of basic pay for
additional personnel as staff of the Commission in accordance
with section 3161(d) of title 5, United States Code.
(4) Detail of government employees.--A Federal Government
employee may be detailed to the Commission without
reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption
or loss of civil service status or privilege.
(5) Procurement of temporary and intermittent services.--
The Co-Chairpersons of the Commission may procure temporary
and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5,
United States Code, at rates for individuals that do not
exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay
prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under
section 5316 of that title.
(h) Termination of Commission.--The Commission shall
terminate 90 days after the date on which the Commission
submits the report required under subsection (e)(2)(A)(ii).
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) Increase.--The amount authorized to be appropriated by
section 4301 for Operation and Maintenance, Defense-wide, for
the Office of the Secretary of Defense, is hereby increased
by $3,000,000.
(2) Offset.--The amount authorized to be appropriated by
section 4301 for Operation and Maintenance, Afghanistan
Security Forces Fund, for Afghanistan Air Force, Line 090, is
hereby reduced by $3,000,000.
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